Does the road to Mars need asteroids as stepping stones?

October 30, 2014 8:24 AM

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If the statement of Richard Benzel, an MIT planetary scientist, is to be believed, asteroids could help sending humans to Mars in the future, but not with the current asteroid capture strategy that is used by NASA. NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission or ARM tries to capture space rocks or NEAs (Near Earth Asteroids) and bring them close to earth. This mission is being promoted by NASA as a way for developing techniques and technologies that might be helpful for a Mars trip. However, Binzel finds this an ‘expensive distraction’ from the real goal of trying to send humans to Mars.

If the statement of Richard Benzel, an MIT planetary scientist, is to be believed, asteroids could help sending humans to Mars in the future, but not with the current asteroid capture strategy that is used by NASA.